Chapter 284: Chapter 272: Put Your Clothes On
KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK!
Flora Bloom jumped at the sound of knocking on the bathroom door.
"Flora? Are you alright in there? How come you’re so quiet?"
Flora Bloom quickly got back into the warm water of the bathtub. "I’m fine, I’m fine! I was just running the water!" She only soaked for a few minutes before getting out. The energy from her Water Ability nourished her skin, leaving it fair, translucent, and delicate. It rendered all the various skincare products she had hoarded in her space before the apocalypse completely unnecessary.
When Flora Bloom walked out in a fresh set of clothes, she saw Lex Cross sitting on the edge of the bed, watching her with stern intensity.
"I’m going to wash up."
Lex Cross walked straight into the steamy bathroom, and he even closed the door—a courtesy he likely wouldn’t have bothered with otherwise. Hearing the whooshing of the showerhead, Flora’s heart fluttered nervously, and she instantly vanished from the spot.
The space was no longer the lifeless place it had been at the beginning.
In the acres of farmland, the wheat and a host of fruits and vegetables were already nearing maturity after less than two days. This was a perk of the space’s upgrade: the growing time in the black soil had been reduced by a full two-thirds, much to Flora Bloom’s delight.
After the space upgraded, Flora Bloom transplanted all the fruit trees from the riverbank to one of the mountains and had Monkey One, Monkey Two, and Monkey Three move their homes there as well. ’If I can get more fruit trees and cover this whole mountain,’ Flora thought to herself, ’won’t I have a real Flower-Fruit Mountain in my space?’
However, compared to the docile nature of Monkey Two and Monkey Three, Monkey One clearly disliked being confined to the space. So, after they woke up, most of her little pets, Monkey One included, were active in the outside world.
Additionally, the little War Wolf Clan pup had been inexplicably listless lately. Flora Bloom had asked Lex Cross about it. He explained that this War Wolf Clan cub was different from ordinary creatures. It not only needed to absorb Energy Gemstones to raise its energy level but also required constant fighting to improve its combat skills. To grow and level up, both were indispensable.
So, with guidance from Lex Cross, Flora Bloom added the pup’s training plan to her schedule.
The Golden Crow, which had also signed a Soul Contract with Flora Bloom, seemed to really enjoy entering her space recently. Every time it came in, it would sneak around the Spirit River, looking very excited.
Flora Bloom asked it many times but couldn’t get a reason, so she just let it be.
She had thought about what her space would eventually become back at the start of the apocalypse. A place with flowers, grass, and trees; chickens and ducks sharing a coop; herds of pigs and sheep. Right now, she had chickens, pigs, sheep, and even geese. It seemed she’d have to spend some time looking for ducks and cows to see if she could find any live ones to bring into her space.
Especially dairy cows! Milk was a rare commodity. Most dairy products in the stores now were either about to expire or had already spoiled. Polly Bloom couldn’t go without milk while she was growing.
The Spirit River was still lacking many types of fish; she had to find an opportunity to collect more. In her past life, her milk supply had been low after giving birth to Polly, leaving her daughter thin and malnourished from a young age. Crucian carp soup was said to help with lactation, so she had to find some before going into labor this time.
The sea connected to the Spirit River, on the other hand, already contained a good variety of marine fish. She would never dream of serving the Japanese halfbeaks, but she had no intention of passing up other nutritious ocean fish.
Morhaven was a coastal city with abundant marine resources, so she had to find time to make a trip out to sea. After her space upgraded, she would only need to activate its "magnetic field" while in the ocean. Any fish or other marine creatures within a hundred-meter radius would fall into its collection range and be automatically pulled into her space.
Everything was trending in the right direction, but two things still worried Flora Bloom. The first was Annelise Locke’s capture and imprisonment in a laboratory, and the second was the situation with Lucia.
Joel Bloom had become much more cheerful since he began training with Sherman Lynch. He no longer went about with a constant frown, looking like he bore a deep and bitter grudge against the world. Lately, however, that woman, Lucia, seemed to be making her move again. Every day, she would stand and wait outside the old quarantine wall, and her piteous, stone-like vigil had moved quite a few people in the base.
Naturally, some of the gossip reached Flora Bloom’s ears. Rumors that Lucia had only betrayed Joel Bloom and turned to another man to protect their child. That she had been forced into it and deserved to be forgiven.
Gossip that called Flora Bloom dramatic, and Joel Bloom petty and ungracious. Gossip that said, at the very least, the child in Lucia’s womb belonged to the Bloom family, so treating her this way was just too cruel.
Flora Bloom had no interest in wrestling with doctored rumors, but those words were incredibly grating to Joel Bloom’s ears.
Flora Bloom lay under a grape arbor in the small courtyard of her space, eating grapes and mulling things over. Suddenly, she heard what sounded like a voice coming from outside the space.
Flora Bloom listened closely. It was Lex Cross. He had finished his shower and was now lying on the bed with a towel wrapped around his vital regions.
"Flora, you don’t expect me to sleep like this tonight, do you?"
Lex Cross lay alone on the bed, his long legs crossed, speaking to himself with extreme nonchalance. ’This woman actually hid in her space. She’s such a coward.’
"I’m leaving early tomorrow morning. Are you planning to hide from me until then?"
Not long after Lex Cross’s words faded, Flora Bloom appeared in the bedroom, holding a set of men’s clothes.
"Put these on!"
Flora Bloom shoved the clothes at him and turned her back, refusing to look.
It was a black, casual, cotton-linen tank top, similar in style to a combat vest, with a matching pair of black cargo pants. She had originally gotten the outfit for her father and Joel Bloom. Both her father, Caleb Bloom, and Joel Bloom were over 1.8 meters tall, so Flora had bought large sizes.
"You can turn around. I’m dressed."
Flora Bloom turned around and looked. The large tank top had lost all its loose, casual feel on Lex Cross’s frame. Instead, it clung tightly to the lines of his muscles, looking incredibly sexy.
Those large, black cargo pants should have been a perfect fit for her 1.8-meter-tall father or her 1.83-meter-tall brother. On Lex Cross, however, they exposed a good portion of his calves. Far from looking comical or ill-fitting, the outfit gave him an unexpectedly stylish, alternative look.
"So? Is it alright?"
"It’s fine, I guess. The pants are more like capris on you, though."
The corner of Lex Cross’s mouth lifted. "Just fine?"
"The pant legs are a good few inches too short! Calling it ’fine’ is already a compliment, you know!"
Lex Cross patted the spot on the bed next to him. "It’s late. Aren’t you going to sleep?"
Flora Bloom’s eyes darted. "Hey, uh, we could probably chat for another ten Crystal Cores’ worth. Sleep isn’t urgent!"
"Well, I am," Lex Cross’s black energy suddenly erupted from his body, forming a thick chain that shot out and pulled Flora to his side. He then hooked an arm around her, drawing her into his embrace.
Flora Bloom tensed up, not daring to move. Lex Cross, amused, squeezed her stiff arm.
"Lying here stiff as a board... aren’t you tired?"
"Nope! Not tired at all!"
Then, seeing Lex Cross’s shadow fall over her, she squeezed her eyes shut.
The scene she was expecting didn’t happen. Instead, she felt a cool sensation on her forehead.
She opened her eyes to find Lex Cross gazing into hers. "You...?"
"Go to sleep. And don’t move."
